David Rees, Assembly Member, and Stephen Kinnock, Member of Parliament, have today welcomed the announcement by Edwina Hart, Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, that the part time trial closure of the M4 Junction 41 westbound on-slip will be lifted pending further analysis.

The Minister’s announcement comes in response to the final report on the trial, following which it has been decided to conduct further analysis to inform a final decision on whether or not the junction will be permanently affected.

David said: “I welcome the letter from the Minister and the decision to temporarily lift the part time closure of Junction 41. I am sure that the people of Port Talbot will also welcome this statement, as they have suffered both traffic chaos and economic disadvantage as a result of this part time closure. However, it is important for all to recognise that this is not the final decision with the fight to permanently reopen the junction continuing and I will remain at its forefront, challenging the Welsh Government to ensure that the closure is permanently lifted.”

Stephen said: “I welcome the news that the Minister is listening to the voices of the residents of Port Talbot, but I recognise that this is not the end of the matter and I will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Assembly Member, David Rees, and local campaigners in our hope to make this a permanent re-opening.”